


This Feeling In My Chest

by stilinski_wolf



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Canon-Compliant, M/M, Post Season 4, like just after the events of the season finale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-23
Updated: 2016-07-23
Packaged: 2018-07-26 08:10:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7566718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stilinski_wolf/pseuds/stilinski_wolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles is scared to leave the abandoned church in Mexico because he's scared to find out if Derek dying became a reality. </p><p>When he finally steps out of the church, though, what he finds makes him happier than he was expecting.</p>
            </blockquote>





	This Feeling In My Chest

Stiles is scared to leave the church, finds himself dragging his feet behind Scott and the others, hesitating at times to actually move. 

Because Stiles is pretty sure of what they’ll find, and it scares him to death. 

But Derek had told him to go.

And if he hadn’t of gone, he wouldn’t have found Kira, and wouldn’t have known it was Scott that was the berserker, and then Scott would be dead right now instead of…instead of Derek.

Stiles wasn’t quite sure why that thought was affecting him so much, why remembering how Derek had looked, bleeding out on the ground outside the church affected him so much. Why he shuddered at remembering it. 

Derek had almost died and Stiles and others had thought him to be dead enough times that this shouldn’t affect Stiles as it was, only…only before, while Derek dying hadn’t been something he had wanted (most of the time), and it had scared him when Derek was close to dying, it also hadn’t given him this…feeling, before.

This feeling of something close to…to sadness and maybe a little bit of devastation. 

It had been growing in him ever since Lydia had typed Derek’s name into the keyword to open the list, even though for the most part he tried to forget that and that very real possibility, but it had all become way too real that night, seeing Derek actually dying and knowing what Banshees predict and predict rightly. 

Stiles couldn’t stop thinking about it, and his heart was beating faster and faster the closer they got to the entrance of the church, and Stiles ignored Scott’s curious look back to him, and Malia’s slightly confused look. 

Stiles tried to brace himself, but he couldn’t stop shaking as Scott left through the door ahead of them. 

Stiles found himself pausing right before the door, and swallowed thickly. This was it, the moment of truth…

“Stiles? What’s wrong?" 

Stiles looked at Malia, just shook his head. "Nothing, I’m good." 

Malia looked suspicious but didn’t comment further as she went through the doors, and Stiles took a moment to himself to breathe in, breathe out, and closed his eyes as he tried to get a grip on himself. 

Then with one last breath, he opened his eyes and stepped out.

It was daytime by now, and Stiles first saw Scott, Kira, Liam, Malia, then he saw Argent and the hunters gathered near a car, and Stiles stepped forward and looked toward where Derek had been, shocked when he didn’t see his body, but feeling a hopeful wave of relief.

And then he heard…

"You’re okay?”

“Yeah, uh, I actually um…I’m more than okay, as it turns out.”

Derek.

Stiles whipped his head around, gaped as he saw Derek standing near Scott, dressed in a brand new outfit from before, whole and healed and alive. Alive.

Stiles let out a shuddering breath, felt his knees go weak, felt himself moving forward a few steps before he stopped himself, because he had just felt the urge to rush up to Derek and…hug him, for fucks sake. What was wrong with Stiles? When had he ever wanted to hug Derek freaking Hale? Not even when he seemingly came back from the dead all those times before had Stiles wanted to hug him. 

But now…fuck.

Stiles cleared his throat and tried to walk as casually as he could up to the group, but he couldn’t quite stop himself from interrupting Scott’s, “No way, so you actually turned into-”

“You’re alive.” Stiles breathed, cursed himself for sounding so relieved, and Derek startled, looked from Scott to Stiles, and Stiles tried not to squirm as everyone was now looking at him.

“Yeah.” Derek smiled. “I am.”

“But…” Stiles said. “How?" 

"I didn’t die…well, technically I did…but that was before I turned…I turned into a wolf.”

“What?" 

"He evolved into someone who could turn into a full wolf form.” Scott explained, still looking at Derek in awe.

“So what, he’s a pokémon?” Stiles blurted, not being able to help himself, and Scott snorted out a laugh while Derek rolled his eyes. 

“No, Stiles, I’m not a pokémon. I’m a werewolf. Again. Only stronger now.” And Derek actually grinned at that, looking toward the ground, and Derek was…he was fucking beautiful, is what he was. 

“Okay, I’m totally gonna have to research this when I get home. This is crazy!” Stiles burst out, and the others laughed. “Seriously Derek, I had no idea betas…or former betas could turn into a full beta werewolf. I thought only Alphas could do that! And even then, it’s rare, right?” Stiles looked from Derek to Scott and back again.

Scott nodded. “I still haven’t fully transformed into one and I don’t even know if I will be able to…I haven’t actually tried to yet." 

Stiles nodded, looked briefly at Scott, then at Derek. "So you’re like…the rarest of the rare as far as werewolves go.” Stiles said, looking at Derek in wonder.

“I don’t know, I guess.” Derek shrugged, and he looked happy, and Stiles was probably going to internally combust from the Derek he was seeing in front of him.

Fuck, he’d missed Derek. 

Startled at his thoughts and just how much he was actually feeling for Derek, Stiles backed off, let the others talk, saw the Argent and the other hunters moving toward them.

But Stiles saw Derek move off to the side, Braeden slightly off to his side, and ignoring Malia’s look, went over to Derek’s side, taking his arm to get his attention.

“Hey…I just wanted to say…” Stiles looked at Derek’s raised eyebrows, the relaxed look on his face, and Stiles felt something twist and flutter in his stomach. Clearing his throat, Stiles said, “I just wanted to say…glad you didn’t die. Or whatever.”

Derek laughed softly, and Stiles saw Braeden watching them from a few feet away. “Thanks. Or whatever.”

Stiles slowly felt the smile bloom on his face, and felt his breath leave him when Derek smiled widely back. 

Derek was just a good looking guy, okay? Objectively. Anyone would feel a little catch in their breath while looking at him and his stupid smiling face. Obviously. 

Slowly dropping Derek’s arm as Argent came up to their group, Stiles gave Derek a nod, and their eyes caught and held for a long moment, unwavering and unmoving before Derek nodded back, and Stiles cleared his throat as he turned away from him and walked back over to where Malia and Liam were standing, going to lean against the wall as Scott stood in front, his arm around Kira’s shoulder, as Argent led his speech into the subject of Kate and the deal he’d made with the hunters. 

But Stiles couldn’t help peaking over, just once, at where Derek was standing with Braeden, and swallowed when Derek glanced over at him as well.

Then Stiles hastily looked away, and just let himself feel the relief that Derek was alive, and seemed happy and whole. 

Stiles felt like he could cry with the relief of it, but instead held back, and went to stand by Scott, his friend, his brother, his Alpha as Argent turned to leave. 

For now, with Scott alive, and Derek alive, and them having stopped and captured Peter, life was good. Stiles knew it wouldn’t last, of course, but for now, he breathed in and let himself feel the happiness he felt in that moment, smiled as he saw Derek and Scott look at each other and nod, as if they had come to an understanding.

And then Derek glanced over at Stiles and actually gave him a small smile, just an upward tilt to his lips, and Stiles gave him one back. 

And maybe, just maybe, after this, he and Stiles would become friends.

And Stiles actually felt content with that thought, surprisingly. 

Didn’t mean he wouldn’t stop snarking at Derek and trying to annoy the crap of him, of course. That would never change, if Stiles had anything to say about it. 

But that also didn’t mean that Stiles wasn’t going to call Derek and try to get him to hang out with him the first chance he got. 

Stiles could already see his annoyed face, and laughed to himself at the image. 

This was going to be fun.


End file.
